R.I. Dem reportedly considered GOP

Rhode Island state Treasurer Frank Caprio is running unopposed in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for governor, but according to Republican John Robitaille there was a time he considered running on the GOP slate.

Caprio met last February with officials at the Republican National Committee — a meeting the group says Caprio initiated. Robitaille, the likely GOP nominee, says Caprio believes he’s the impediment standing in his path to victory in a unique three-way general election race and is trying to push him out of the contest. RNC spokesman Parish Braden confirmed the February meeting took place wouldn’t say precisely who attended. He told the Providence Journal, which first reported the encounter, that “Caprio is a political opportunist and was selling his candidacy to the highest bidder.”

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Robitaille, a former communications aide for retiring GOP Gov. Don Carcieri, is expected to win the Republican nod over former state Rep. Victor Moffitt, while Caprio’s path cleared after state Attorney General Patrick Lynch ended his Democratic bid in July. But both must contend with former Sen. Lincoln Chafee, a Republican-turned-independent, who has muscled labor support and money for a third-party bid and has taken an early lead in polling.

“I had known for quite some time that Frank was basically party-shopping last winter,” Robitaille told POLITICO. “I think he was pretty much just abandoning his party principles.”

But Robitaille claims Caprio’s political posturing didn’t end there. He says over the past month and a half, at least six “political operatives” have been reaching out, encouraging Robitaille to drop his bid, operating under the logic that Caprio, who is to the right of Chafee on many issues, would draw more conservative voters if Robitaille was not an option.

Caprio approached Robitaille for a face-to-face meeting, which occurred a few weeks ago. While Caprio never explicitly asked Robitaille to drop out of the race, the Republican said, the message was nevertheless clear.

“He did not overtly offer me a job or anything. It was a very nuanced conversation that, for someone in the communications business — I knew what he was saying to me,” said Robitaille. “I’m in this to win. There’s not a scenario on God’s good earth that would get me out of the race.”

Caprio’s campaign was quick to deflect the questions about the meetings.